


Worth It

by curiouserncuriouser



Series: The Songbird [2]
Category: Actor RPF, American (US) Actor RPF
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Love Confessions, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:20:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23615860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curiouserncuriouser/pseuds/curiouserncuriouser
Summary: Loving Chris wasn't the hard part. Letting herself be loved, on the other hand...
Relationships: Chris Evans (Actor)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Songbird [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699837
Comments: 29
Kudos: 27





	1. I'll be Home

**Author's Note:**

> This is one possible ending to "The Songbird" where our protagonist, Shyla, finds herself torn between her leading men. This is a very fluffy ending, so if you want to read all the plot leading up to it, please check out the first work in the series: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22905268/
> 
> If you HAVE read that, this picks up a few months after we left off.

Chris had a little more Christmas shopping to do and was cursing himself for putting it off so long. Would his brother be understanding if he just got him some random shit from the checkout line at the drugstore instead of _thinking_? He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, and wanted to ignore it so he could concentrate. But staring at everything on the counter was just frustrating him, so he gave up and checked his lock screen. Shyla had texted “Does your gate have a code or something?”

She hadn’t reached out to him since Thanksgiving, so his mind reeled. He was a little pissed she hadn’t been talking to him, even just to let him know she was safe. But that was mixed with relief she’d finally contacted him, and confusion about why it was about his gate. He texted her the code, and asked why.

“Special delivery! Don’t let it sit out in the cold too long” was her immediate response. What a weirdo. From what he knew of her plans, she was somewhere in South America right now, and she’s sending him, what, an Edible Arrangement for Christmas? He smiled at his phone, he couldn’t figure out how to condense his feelings into a text message. He shrugged, and decided to just buy his brother a damned watch and get home. He handed over his credit card and drove home, ready to just be done with errands and curl up with Dodger, take a nap.

When he got through the gate and pulled up the drive, he craned his neck to see just what it was that was waiting on his doorstep. He couldn’t see anything at first, then sped up. That looked like a suitcase. And…Shyla sat up. She’d been laying on his porch. He slammed his car into park in front of the step and barely took the time to cut the ignition before leaping out to run to her. He slowed after a few steps.

“Surprise?” she said, unsure. His expression was unreadable. Dodger was barking in the house now, and Chris was just staring at her.

She was just standing there, looking exhausted and harried from travel, freezing from sitting on his stoop for at least 20 minutes, tears brimming her eyes, and she still took his breath away.

He closed the distance and hugged her, hard. She was real, she was here at his house, in his arms. He could feel her shaking, and realized she was crying. He held her face, searching it, trying to figure out if she was hurt, or what else was wrong.

“I’m so sorry, Chris. It was you, it’s always been you.” She barely had a chance to get the words out before he kissed her. She held onto the front of his coat like a lifeline, he crushed her into him, just needing to feel the reality of the situation.

When she shivered, he finally broke the kiss. “Why are you sorry? Here, let’s get you inside, it’s freezing,” he picked up her bags and ushered her in.

She bent to greet Dodger, and even that made Chris’ heart soar. He was suddenly full of frenetic energy, his body and mind trying to move every way at once. He wanted to hold her, kiss her, even just look at her, but he also wanted to talk to her, understand what was happening, as well as take care of her, make her a cup of tea and get her cozied under some blankets. When she stood and turned to him, she pre-empted the flurry, “Let’s start with the talking, or I’m going to explode.” He nodded, took her hand, and just waited. She continued, “I just…I can’t apologize enough for how I’ve treated you. I was just so scared. I was so overwhelmed by filming, and all the attention and changes and everything, I lost track of everything. And I shouldn’t have just ditched you like that to travel. You deserved better than that, it was cowardly of me. I just needed time and space to come back to myself, understand myself a little better. And I realized you were always the one, since the moment we met. It’s just scary to let myself love anyone again. I couldn’t even let myself see how scared I was. But I’m not scared anymore. I love you Chris, and I hope you can forgive me.”

He cradled her face in his hands and just tried to absorb every bit of this moment into his mind. How much her eyes were sparkling, even with the dark circles under them. The wispy bits of hair that had escaped her bun. The smell that was so distinctly _her_ , even with all the dirt of the road layered on top. How heartbreakingly beautiful she was with that open, honest expression of love on her face. He could feel the tears trace a path down his cheeks, and he didn’t care.

“I love you, Shyla. There’s nothing to forgive: you needed time, and I needed to give you that. I would have given you all the time in the world. And now you’re here, and that’s all I could ever hope for.”

She threw her arms around him, and they just held each other. She was shaking a little, he couldn’t tell if it was more crying, or the cold, but he just cradled her in his arms. He could hear her say into his chest “Sorry I’m gross, I considered getting a hotel room by the airport just to shower before coming here, but I couldn’t wait.”

He laughed hard at that. “Like I care! I’m just glad you’re here, even if you stink. So…what does this mean? Are you staying in Boston, or did you just pop by to tell me you loved me before jetting off to some other exotic locale?”

“I was kind of hoping I could stay here. As long as you’d have me, anyway.”

“You’re not visiting your family for Christmas?”

“No, but I might do a quick visit in the New Year. If your family doesn’t want me around…I wouldn’t blame them.”

“Of course they’ll want you around!”

“Good, because I got a bunch of Christmas presents to buy my way in. That’s basically all there is in that suitcase. Also, I’m going to need to do some laundry and shopping, I have almost no clothes and what I do have is extremely functional.”

“Gah, I want to do all the things at once. Okay, you just got off a plane. We’ll get some laundry going, you can shower. I guess I’ll figure out dinner?”

She kissed him, “You are the best man ever. Don’t stress about dinner, even just a box of mac & cheese would be amazing.”

“You know, I’ve been learning how to cook because of you,” he proudly informed her.

Her eyes lit up, “Really? Chris, I’m so proud! Well, we have plenty of time for you to show off later. For now…could I get a tour of the house?”

“Oh god, that’s right, you’ve never been here before!” he took her hand and lead her through the house. He’d spent so much time thinking about her in this house, he had forgotten she hadn’t actually seen the place other than over video chats. His enthusiasm crept in as they walked, suggesting how he could make space for her. It had been a bachelor pad since he bought it, there was more space than he needed, so there were a lot of guest bedrooms and just unused space. He was excited to fill it with _her_.

Once she knew the layout well enough, she started in on her laundry and unpacking, and left him to call his mom. Now that she had a moment alone, the sense of how surreal the whole situation was really set in. This was it, she’d done it. After the way she had treated all of the men in her life over the past year, she wouldn’t have blamed them if they never wanted to speak to her again. She was pretty sure Seb had already moved on. He hadn’t said so, when they’d messaged each other, but he had been throwing himself into his work, and it seemed like he’d taken it to heart when she’d told him to move on. She hadn’t spoken with Henry much, he’d contacted her when she was done filming and she told him her plans about traveling the world, and that it was for the best if he just moved on, found somebody else. That it wasn’t fair for her to make him wait while she got her shit together. But they hadn’t been friends before sex came into it, so she hadn’t expected a big emotional parting. He seemed disappointed, sure, but she was sure he would find someone new in no time.

She hadn’t chosen Chris because he was the only one left. But she did love him for staying. He’d kept in touch with her through her travels, always wanting to chat with her, make sure she was safe, that she was happy, that she was finding what she was looking for. It was just like before they’d gone to Atlanta, the same fun and easy friendship they’d always had. It was just a little more tender, a little more special. She could tell now how hard it was for him when she went off the grid for a while because some specific adventure called. And how relieved he was to hear from her again, and excited for her to unload the details of what she’d been up to. He was so loyal, so caring. She had loved him all along, even long since realized it, but what she hadn’t been able to let herself do was accept his love. A huge part of her soul-searching had been just coming to terms with that, and convincing herself that, if he wanted to give her his love, she was worthy. He saw her for exactly who she was, he knew her secrets, all the ugly, mean parts of her she wasn’t proud of. He knew it all and he still wasn’t afraid to love her. And if he did the mental calculus and knew she was worth it, even after she’d tried so hard to push him away, then he must think she really deserves it. And all she could do was try to live up to that.

She showered and was a little surprised he didn’t join her. When she finally felt sufficiently un-gross, she toweled off, wrapped herself up, and went to find him. She didn’t have to go far, he was sitting on his bed, fully clothed. She could see there was a steaming cup of tea sitting on one of the nightstands. Her nightstand? She wasn’t really sure which side of the bed he preferred. He scooted to the side of the bed and opened his arms to her. She happily went to his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck as he lay his head on her chest.

“Did you talk to your mom? How pissed is she?”

“She’s so excited!”

“What? She didn’t try to toss out the bitch who was jerking her baby boy around?”

“Not at all. She knew how I felt about you the whole time, probably before I did. And she knew enough about you to get why you did what you did. She’s very excited to meet you.”

“I’m excited to meet her, too. And the rest of your family! Are they okay with me crashing their Christmas? It’s really okay if they’re not, I totally understand.”

“They love that you’ll be here. They had one condition, though.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“Well, I agreed to bring a dish for the first time ever, and they said you had to supervise. They’ve all heard what a legendary cook you are, and they’re very understandably skeptical at my culinary skills.”

“Hell, I’ll not only supervise you, I’ll bring another dish as well. Is there room for more dessert?”

“Always!”

She sat in his lap, straddling him, and kissed him. “I love you! I love you, I love you, I love you! I feel like I can’t stop saying it!”

He kissed her, too. But he was turning from giddy excitement to the kind of excitement you get from having the woman you love finally nearly naked in your lap. “I love you, too!” He started kissing down her neck, saying “I love you” between each kiss. He heard the soft “fwump” of her towel hitting the floor, and his grip tightened in response. “You sure you don’t want dinner, first?” he checked, but started moving a hand up her side to cup her breast. Shook her head, eyes sparkling down at him. He started kneading her breast as he asked “Are you really sure? I mean, that was a long flight, and I’ve got some pasta…”

“You are talking too much and wearing too many clothes,” she laughed, pushing him back onto the bed. She kissed him, and he could feel her lips smiling through it, and he couldn’t help but return the smile. She sat up and undid his pants, he could see her fumble a little bit at his fly. He grinned in self-satisfaction at her haste, knowing she was just as excited as he was. When she finally succeeded, she gave his cock a squeeze through his boxers, and he bucked a little under her. She stood, and helped him the rest of the way out of his clothes. He lay back, closing his eyes, anticipating the feel of her soft skin as she climbed back on his body. Instead, he felt her hands on his thighs as she lowered herself between his legs, her hand on his shaft, more soft skin. He propped himself up on his elbows and saw the prettiest sight he’d ever seen: Shyla, between his legs, holding his cock between her beautiful breasts. She held eye contact as she lowered her kiss-swollen lips to his head. He had to use every ounce of willpower not to come on the spot. She took him into her mouth, she stroked him, and she…played with him. That was the only word for it, what she was doing with her tongue, her teeth, her fingers. And she held his eyes the whole time, seeing what got the best response. He tried to keep his eyes open, he wanted to watch her more than anything but…oh, god, she was good.

He put his hand on her cheek, “Shyla, stop,” he ran his fingers into her hair, “I’m gonna come.”

She obliged, and this time she did crawl up his body, with a smile like the cat who got the cream. She pressed her chest into his, and held her face just above his. “Well, we can’t have that just yet. I have plans for you. Condoms in the nightstand?”

She raised herself off him to grab them, but he didn’t want to break the contact. He ran his hands along her thighs, she was sitting on his stomach, and he could feel the heat of her. He had to suppress an anticipatory moan when she sat back up and slid further down him. He tried to look casual as she opened the condom but couldn’t keep his composure as she slid the magnum over him. She did it with excruciating slowness, and then slid to rub her wetness on the length of him. She put her hands on his stomach to steady herself. She tilted her hips to move his cock, so it was standing at attention, and paused, waiting for him to open his eyes. It was her turn to hold eye contact, as she slowly slid onto his length, feeling her stretch to accommodate his girth.

He was torn between wanting to keep eye contact and wanting to look at their bodies’ meeting, but at least the struggle kept his eyes open so his didn’t have to miss a second. When they bottomed out, she smiled down at him, and slowly, torturously, raised herself up. Now he couldn’t tear his eyes from that sight, watching as she lifted herself until he almost popped out of her, and pausing again for a moment. Then, in a rush, she dropped all the way onto him, both of their backs arching as their bodies met. And at that, the teasing game was over, she was grinding into him. He gripped her hips in his strong hands, if her wits were about her she’d imagine that tomorrow she’d have some bruising, but at the moment that was the last thing on her mind. He moved one hand around to stroke her clit with his thumb, but he hardly had to move, she lowered herself to his chest and ground against his thumb. He could feel her strong walls gripping him as she came with him inside her, one hand on her clit and the other in her hair, kissing her hard.

When her quaking finished again, she gave him another kiss and asked, “can I be bossy?” He nodded dumbly in response. She whispered in his ear “Take me from behind,” and dismounted. “But not in the ass, thank you very much.”

He heaved a delighted sigh and got to his knees behind her. He took a moment to enjoy the view of her prettily on all fours, and ran a hand over the smooth, beautiful skin of her back. She threw him a look over her shoulder, making it clear he didn’t have the leisure of teasing her as she’d done to him. He positioned himself at her entrance and watched as he disappeared into her. She cried out a little when he hit home, and he saw her hands gripping the pillow. He wanted to go slow, but that reaction was too much to resist, and he couldn’t stop himself from pulling out and plunging in, again, and again, and again, not stopping, just watching her writhe, and moan, and lose herself, all as he lost himself in her. She grabbed the headboard and threw her head back, he reached out and grabbed her hair. He couldn’t stop himself, he had no intention of hurting her, just wanting to get as close to her as possible. She walked her hands further up the headboard, and he leaned into her, kissing her shoulder and clutching at her breast. They were both so close, he could tell from the increased pace of the small whimpering noises she made. She turned towards him and reached up to touch his face over her shoulder. She said “Come for me,” with a kind of breathless need that threw him over the edge. He pulled away from her, arching his back as his pace increased until she cried out, and they both held their breath as they felt the waves of their shared climax wash over them.


	2. Bliss

They collapsed on the bed next to each other, chests heaving. Eventually, Chris breathed “wow” and he could feel the slight vibration of the bed as she chuckled and said “Seconded.” She rolled onto her side, propping herself to look at him. She looked like the cat that got the cream, and his eyelids were lowering sleepily. She ran her fingers along the soft skin on the inside of his arm. “You better not fall asleep. I hear it’s bad luck to fall asleep with a condom still on.”

He grunted, “I don’t believe that for a second.”

“Do you want to risk it? Or even just falling asleep before we can have Round 2?”

At that, his eyes shot opened. “Well, when you put it that way…” he gave her one more kiss, and then rolled off the bed, heading to the bathroom. He tied off the condom and tossed it in the bin, relieved himself, then ran some water so he could clean himself up a bit and got her a washcloth. He walked out of the bathroom and couldn’t help but stop and stare. She had tossed the covers aside and was curled up under the top sheet. She looked peaceful, beatific.

Without moving, she called to him, “Much as I enjoy the view of you standing there, you should consider joining me in the bed, it’s much cozier.”

He jumped at the invite, diving into bed behind her. “If you insist!”

She sighed as she pressed back into him. “This is a nice bed you’ve got here, Evans.”

“Well thank you, Riddle. It’s a whole lot nicer now with you in it.”

“Aww, ain’t you sweet!” She turned and kissed the bicep she was using as a pillow. Who knew a gun like this could be so cozy? “I saw the tea there, thank you for that.”

“Probably cold now, sorry I distracted you from it.”

“Somehow, I didn’t mind the distraction. I didn’t think you liked jasmine tea?”

“I don’t especially.”

“You keep tea you don’t even _like_ on-hand? We’re going to have to clean out your pantry.”

She could feel him shrug, “I knew you liked it.”

“You bought tea that I like and kept it around the house? Just in case?”

“You’re my best friend. I knew you’d be around at some point.”

She wiggled around until she’d turned in his arms to face him. “Did I mention I love you? Because, and I cannot emphasize this enough: I love you, Christopher Robert Evans.”

“Ooh, using my full name now? That is serious! Shyla Kristen Riddle: I love you too.”

“Now that that’s established, there are three things I feel we still need to discuss.”

“Wow, three things? That’s very specific. Shoot.”

“Okay, in no particular order, issue one: do you want your presents today, or on Christmas? Issue two: what’s for dinner? Issue three: when do we get to have sex again? Because I have some ideas.”

“Alright, then, in reverse order: I can be ready in like five minutes with proper inspiration. Pasta carbonara. And I guess that depends on if it would be a safe present for me to open in front of my family, or if it’s like some crazy sex toy you got in Japan.”

“It’s family-friendly, I had all the crazy sex toys shipped to my house. Ok, dinner then a post-food-coma Round 2. Deal?”

“Deal!” They kissed, and then got out of bed. He helped her find a shirt of his to wear. It definitely wasn’t the same as in the movies, with a ridiculously oversized shirt to make her look tiny: he wasn’t a small man, but her curves definitely could fill a shirt more than his pecs. She found a hoodie, and she’d had the foresight to keep one clean pair of panties out of the laundry cycle. She tied her hair up in a ponytail and followed him down to the kitchen.

As they prepared and ate their meal, she couldn’t help but think back to when he asked her out, and said it wouldn’t be a first date. It was still exciting and new, but it also still felt like they’d just dropped into the middle of a very domestic situation together. They knew how to work together in the kitchen like they’d been living together for years. And it was cozy, just the two of them, hanging with Dodger, being in a real house full of Chris’ things, not just a sterile temporary apartment.

She was exhausted after they ate, even though it was early. He didn’t even joke about missing out on round two, just asked if she wanted to crash early or do something chill, watch TV. They cuddled up on the couch, settling in for a show. He reclined in one corner, and she curled alongside him, under his arm, and Dodger curled up at their legs. He checked out some sports & news thing, and she spent a little time on her phone, just seeing if she could get a little bit of clothes shopping out of the way without having to even leave the house. She found a couple things, then tucked her phone away. He switched over to a sitcom, and she started getting a little…distracted. She started examining his hand, then tracing her fingers along his arm.

He giggled a little, it tickled. “What are you getting up to down there?”

“Just…getting to know you a little better, I suppose.”

“Do you still want to watch TV?”

She looked up into his eyes. “Not especially, no.”

“Do you want to go to bed?”

“Not to sleep…”

“Well that answers my next question!” He picked her up, hoisting her over his shoulder, and practically bounded up to the bedroom.

When he finally let her slide down to a standing position, she was flushed from laughter (and probably the blood rushing to her head). She hugged him for a minute, just resting her head on his chest and savoring the feeling of him. She reached up to cradle his face in both hands, and just…look at him. He looked a bit different. The Cap blonde was gone, and he had a beard, but it wasn’t just that. He was…relaxed. He wasn’t in the middle of a shoot, trying to keep all the various demands from eating him alive. He wasn’t running around between projects. He had nothing else he was working on, and no new projects for a while. The little creases around his eyes showed a little more easily, but only because he was smiling more. He’d been spending a lot of time with his family, and gone on a Disney World trip with them. It had killed her to miss it, but since she couldn’t be sure how his family would react, she didn’t want to intrude on that. But as she looked at him, she couldn’t entirely stifle the pang of guilt she felt. She had contributed to the anxiety before, she knew she had. Wasn’t it a little foolhardy to think she could waltz in here and not put that mess back in Chris’ mind?

But before she could chase that train of thought, his lips were on hers. God, those lips. They were somehow even better than she’d remembered, even with the scratchy beard around them. He put his arms around her waist and stood, carrying her to the bed with her feet dangling. She knelt on the bed and he unzipped his hoodie from her, and she started pulling his shirt up. She took some time to run her fingers through his chest hair. She’d been a little rushed to enjoy it previously, and after the teasing about the bare chest a year ago, she wanted to take a moment to appreciate it. He was undeniably hot either way, but seeing him as his natural self was irresistible, knowing she was getting a version of him that wasn’t just made for movies. When he slid her panties off her hips, and she did the same with his remaining clothes, she wrapped her arms around him and he lowered her to the bed.

Today felt like a mirror of their week of dating. The first time was passionate, needy. And, if she was being honest with herself, just a long time coming. But the second time was almost spiritual. It was love made manifest. They wanted to look into each other’s eyes, they wanted to hold each other tight. They really wanted their souls to fuse, but, lacking an easy way to do that, they held their bodies as close together as they could. But this time, in addition to moaning his name, she could allow herself all the whispered “I love you”s her mouth could manage.

After cleaning up, Chris let Dodger in, and they all cuddled up. She told him about her favorite details from her travels, and then he took over, telling her stories about growing up and his family, until she dozed off in his arms. He followed shortly, smiling into the top of her head.


	3. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just 100% fluff! I'm sure there will be more smut later, but for now...Christmas fluff!

Christmas morning dawned bright and sunny across the snowy fields around Chris’ house. Shyla’s had finished all the shopping and wrapping and baking she could possibly do, and she was prepared. But she was terrified. Word got around to Chris that his older sister was not so thrilled about Shyla’s presence at their holiday. Shy decided to beg off going to Christmas Eve, it was supposed to be a smaller family gathering, so she told Chris she had some more things to do and sent him on his way. He didn’t want to go without her, but he hoped it would give him more time to smooth things over with Carly.

It didn’t really work. He didn’t want to admit it, but she got the impression that he might have actually made it a bit worse. So she was terrified. Family was hard, and in-laws were harder, especially when they weren’t even in-laws yet, just The Boyfriend’s Family. She didn’t want to fuck this up, but there was a lot of potential for it, especially with one sibling already against her.

She had picked her outfit carefully, it was cute and comfortable, but not particularly attention-grabbing. She wore her hair loosely swept into a side bun at her nape, wore minimal makeup, and skipped jewelry. Chris wasn’t terribly helpful, he thought she should just wear a pair of sweatpants, and insisted she’d look beautiful no matter what. It was a very typical dude response, which might have worked if it was his dad she was worried about, but it was his sister, so she brushed his opinion on this matter aside. This once, anyway.

When they arrived at his mom’s house, they were relieved of the massive pile of gifts they carried in. Chris greeted everyone and made introductions, it wasn’t terribly difficult for Shyla to attach names to faces, just from the sheer volume he’d spoken about his family, and the pictures he’d sent her. Some of the extended family she had to put a little extra effort in, but she knew most wouldn’t expect her to commit every single name to memory.

Once they’d settled in, there was some more bustling to be done before they were going to open presents, and Shyla figured no time like the present. She excused herself and left Chris in the living room to find Carly in the kitchen. Carly hadn’t been anything short of welcoming during their introduction, but Shyla could see that her eyes were colder than her smile. “Hey, Carly, can I speak with you for a second?”

She was cutting up vegetables, there wasn’t anyone else in the kitchen though. “I’m kind of busy, Shyla.”

“I’m happy to help. Hopefully this will only be a second.”

“Okay, go ahead and chop up that broccoli.”

Shyla grabbed another cutting board and knife, assuming a position opposite Carly at the island. “I know that you’re not thrilled about me showing up and barging into your Christmas. I just want to see if there’s anything I can do to make it better. Do you just want me to stay out of your way? Or anything I can say or do?”

She put down the knife and stared at the counter for a moment before meeting Shyla’s eyes. “You broke my brother’s heart. He might have forgiven you, but I haven’t forgotten. And now you waltz in here, on Christmas no less, and expect everything’s going to be just fine? What makes you think you deserve that?”

“I don’t,” Shyla responded simply. “I don’t expect everything to be fine. I don’t deserve any of it. I certainly don’t deserve Chris.” This threw Carly for a loop. She furrowed her brow, examining Shyla, and nodded for her to continue. “When I met Chris, we were just friends. I was only starting to date after my husband had died. And, frankly, I was failing at it. I was more messed up than I knew. Chris was always so kind, thoughtful, and just…you know how he is. And I loved him. And when he made a move…I messed up. I monumentally fucked up. I thought I was healed enough to date and get into a relationship, but doing that with Chris meant potentially losing my best friend, and I panicked. I know I can’t undo that choice. But I’ve done a lot of work on myself, and even if I don’t deserve Chris yet, I want to put in the work to get to the point where I do deserve him. I really do love him. And for some dumb reason, he loves me too. I don’t expect you to like me. I would just appreciate a chance to be better for him. And I promise I won’t hurt him again.”

Carly looked at her long and hard. At one point Scott started to walk into the kitchen, but immediately pivoted and left when he saw the stare-down Shyla was receiving.

“Okay,” Carly finally agreed. “I can’t pretend to understand what you were going through. But I can tell you do love Chris, and I believe that you don’t want to hurt him. And I respect that you were straight with me. I won’t get in your way. But you still are going to have to earn your spot with Chris and with this family.”

Shyla nodded, “That’s all I can ask for. Thank you.” She finished with the broccoli, and said “Is there anything else I can help you with in here?”

“No, get back out to Chris before he thinks I’m hiding your body somewhere,” she gave Shyla a genuine smile, and Shyla returned it before heading out of the room.

Scott caught her in the hall, out of earshot of the kitchen. He’d obviously overheard the last part, “Did she just ream you?”

“No,” Shyla laughed, “I brought that on myself. Building bridges and whatnot.”

“Holy shit, why would you do that?”

“Dude, I don’t want to have that hanging over us on Christmas. I figured if I said something, either she’d still hate me or she’d hate me less, and if I could make Christmas a little easier, it seemed worth a shot. And hopefully the presents help!”

When it came time to open presents, Shyla was still a little nervous. She’d made some big gambles. She’d gotten things for his parents, siblings, and niblings, and had tried really hard to pick out something based on what she knew about them. For the kids, she also tried to make sure that each gift followed the rules she set for herself for not pissing off parents: none of them was loud, plastic, electronic, or otherwise obnoxious. By and large, it seemed like she’d been successful, she got lot of smiles, and the thank you hugs seemed genuine.

When most of the other gift-giving had died down, she brought a small box and a medium-sized tube over to Chris, and he pulled out his gift for her. She gave him a little surprised look and asked, “Wait…when did you have time to get me something?”

“I got this for you in September, I was going to send this to you as soon as you stayed still at one place long enough, I just didn’t think it would be my house. You got me two presents? That’s cheating, Shy!”

“I never said I play fair!”

“True enough. Okay, we’ll alternate. Which should I open first?”

“This one,” she indicated the box. As he opened the wrapping paper, she explained “It’s a little more…practical, I guess. I won’t be hurt if you don’t like it.”

“Of course I’m going to like it!” He popped the box open, and was a little surprised to find a necklace.

“Okay, I know you’re not a jewelry dude. But let me explain: the pendant isn’t just a pendant. It’s a little hollow tube, see?” she held it up for him to look through. “It’s supposed to be a meditation aid. If you’re feeling stressed, and you need to focus on breathing, put this to your lips, and breathe through it. The tiny tube makes it so you have to breathe slowly. So if you’re having a hard time, and I can’t be there to help…”

He stilled her explanation with a kiss, and then, “This is the most thoughtful thing, Shyla! I love it! I love _you_.”

“I love you too! You sure you like it?” she smiled at him with a little apprehension.

“It’s amazing, I’m putting it on right now!”

It had a long dog tag-like chain, so she just lifted it of his head and settled it around his neck. “Looks good!” she insisted.

He lifted the pendant to his lips, closed his eyes, and exhaled. When he finished, his eyes opened with a sparkle, a little wet but not fully crying, “That’s so cool, Shyla! Thank you!”

“Okay, now I get to open mine!” She took it from him, and was already pretty sure it was a book. She slipped a finger under the paper, and unwrapped it, preserving the wrapping paper out of habit. It was a leather-bound journal, and the cover it said “Not all who wander are lost.”

He spoke low, so his family couldn’t hear: these words were for her. “I knew that when you were traveling, you were trying to figure some things out. It was something you had to do. But even if you felt like you had lost track of yourself, I wanted to remind you that you were you: you always have been, and you always will be. So I wanted to give you a place where you could write through what you were discovering. I filled in a little bit myself, just some memories there and there, to remind you.”

She was already crying as she started to leaf through the paper. Every few pages, there was a little note or a little drawing in a corner. A little blurb that said “When you sang Part of Your World I knew I was looking at a real Disney Princess,” and another that said “Why do you know so many facts about octopi?” with a little sketch of an octopus. They were silly inside jokes, or memories, or sweet observations. They were intended as reminders of who she was, but they served better as reminders of who Chris was: that this whole time, he’d been making note of all these little details, squirreling them away, little miniature love letters. All in the hopes that she would see herself the way he saw her. He was amazing.

She was definitely crying, “Chris this is…the is the most beautiful gift anyone has ever given me.”

“I know it’s not expensive, if I’d known you were coming I would’ve gotten you…”

“Don’t you _dare_ buy me expensive things! You’ve set the bar now, all gifts have to be this romantic or better! This is…” she just looked at him with her jaw dropped. He wiped her tears away and kissed her.

“My turn again!” he declared, taking the tube from her. He pulled off the wrapping and slid the paper out from inside the tube. “Is this…?”

“It’s a star chart. For when we first met,” she explained. There was a map of how the skies would have looked at that first moment, and listed the date, time, and location, down to the minute and the seat numbers. And it said _The moment our stars aligned_. She continued, “With how much you like space, I just thought…”

If they hadn’t been sitting so close, his hug would have tackled her to the floor. They were both crying now, holding each other.

They heard Scott say, “Oh God, there’s two of them now. Chris found a girl that’s as sappy as he is!”

They broke the hug, laughing and wiping their tears away. Shyla said “What can I say? He brings it out of me!” and pressed a quick kiss into his temple.

The whole family was in the basement. It had been a few years since they’d all come down here to perform, but the youngest generation wanted to show off, and everyone else thought it would be fun. It was quite the show, mostly singing and dancing. Shyla didn’t anticipate having to put on a show, so she hadn’t prepared anything, but was happy to sing a bit from Frozen for the kids, even if they were clearly a little disappointed to be getting Anna instead of Elsa.

After things were starting to slow down a little, Chris went up to the piano and announced “I wasn’t really planning this as a performance, but I do have something I’ve been working on. Shy, d’you think you could help me?”

Shyla gave a confused, awkward smile. She had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. He spread some sheet music on the piano and she was even more confused as she walked up to him “So, uh, what are we doing?”

“Don’t worry, you know this one,” he gave her a quick peck and patted her hand, then turned to play.

She didn’t have a chance to actually read the title on the music, but she didn’t need to. From the first notes he played, her heart soared and she couldn’t keep the smile off her face. She leaned into his back, hands on his shoulders, and [sang](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT1taJStGOk),

> _I remember all of the things that I thought I wanted to be_
> 
> _So desperate to find a way out of my world and finally breathe_
> 
> _Right before my eyes I saw my heart, it came to life_
> 
> _This ain’t easy, it’s not meant to be_
> 
> _Every story has its scar_
> 
> _But when the pain cuts you deep_
> 
> _When the night keeps you from sleeping_
> 
> _Just look and you will see_
> 
> _That I will be your remedy_
> 
> _When the world seems so cruel_
> 
> _And your heart makes you feel like a fool_
> 
> _I promise you will see_
> 
> _That I will be, I will be your remedy_

They both made it through the whole song with only tears brimming in their eyes, but when the song was finished he spun on the stool to wrap his arms around her and they both broke down a bit. “Chris! When did you…how did you…” Shyla babbled.

“I always heard you singing it in the Atlanta apartment. Well, I heard you sing a lot of things, but this…this was the one I loved hearing the most. When we wrapped and I got home…well, I started playing piano again to give myself something to do, but it was the only song I could think about learning.”

“You monumental _sap_! God, I love you! And now we’re even: I got you two gifts, you got me two gifts,” she kissed him, knowing full well it was going to start getting awkward with his whole family as an audience. They kept the kiss quick and PG, so his nephews wouldn’t boo them offstage, and then walked back to their seats, hand in hand. They could see there were a few eyes in the audience that hadn’t remained dry, and his mom came up behind Shyla, wrapping her arms around her neck and pressing a little kiss into the side of her head, before patting her on the shoulder and going back to her seat. Even Carly caught her eye and gave her an approving nod. Maybe family didn't have to be hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, I hope you like this! It was SO HARD to think of presents! Comments and kudos motivate me to write more! I'm not really sure what's going to happen next, but I could write Chris fluff for ages, so I'm sure I could figure something out!


	4. Challenges

“So…have you talked to Seb lately?” Shyla asked Chris. It was a lazy day between Christmas and New Year’s, they had already fulfilled his familial obligations and were just enjoying being together before January and reality crept in.

Chris was emptying the dishwasher, and put the glass he was holding on the shelf. “Not recently, no. Not since you got here, anyway. You?”

“No. I just…I know I should tell him, I just didn’t want to call if you already had, and it would be rubbing salt into his wounds.”

“I can call him,” Chris offered.

“Are you sure? Wouldn’t that seem like…gloating?”

“I don’t know that there’s going to be an easy way to do this, Shy.”

“I know. I’m not looking for easy, I just…I don’t want to hurt him anymore. I know it’s not really avoidable, but I’d at least like to minimize it.”

“We don’t have to do this now.”

“We can’t sit on it forever, though. At some point, we’ll get outed, and we need to tell him before that. And I think it would be better to do it soon. If the shoe was on the other foot, wouldn’t you want to know sooner rather than later?”

“You’re right, I know you’re right. You sure you don’t want me to do it?”

“I should be the one to tell him. I’ll let you know what he says, if you should do anything.”

He moved over to her, pulling her in and kissing her forehead. “You’re a good person, Shy.”

“Well, I might not agree with that assessment shortly. I’m gonna do it now, do you mind?”

“No, go for it. You want space?”

“Yeah, I’ll go to the bedroom.”

He kissed her forehead again and watched her walk off towards the stairs.

A half an hour later, he quietly moved up the steps and approached the bedroom door. He listened at it for a moment, not wanting to interrupt if she was still talking. But he didn’t hear and words, just a few sniffles. He knocked gently, “Shy, can I come in?”

“Yeah,” she said, her voice full of sadness. He saw her sit up on the edge of the bed, and he went to her, kneeling on the floor in front of her. He wanted to talk, but he knew she would talk in her own time. She started, “He was…upset.”

“Did he say anything…hurtful?”

“No, it wasn’t anything like that. He sounded mostly sad, I think. Kind of resigned, like he saw it coming. He was definitely hurt, though.”

“I’m so sorry, Shy. How are you feeling?”

“Like an asshole.”

“You’re not an asshole.”

“I’m at least a little bit of an asshole. I didn’t mean to hurt people, and it feels shitty hurting Seb. He was my friend.”

He saw fresh tears spill over onto her cheeks. “I know. He was my friend, too.”

“Do you think he’ll ever forgive me?”

“I’m sure he already has, Shy. Do you think I should say anything?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? God, I’m such an asshole,” she buried her face in her hands, but he pulled them away and held her.

“It’s gonna be okay, Shy. Seb is tough. And he’s been busy with his filming schedule, he won’t have time to mope,” he rubbed his hand on her back in soothing circles. “Hey, hey, talk to me, Shy.”

“I don’t know that there’s anything else to say, Chris. This sucks. It was inevitable, but it still sucks. I hurt Seb, I ruined multiple friendships.”

He sat back and pulled her off the bed, into his lap. She wrapped herself around him as he held her, nestling into his neck. “Shy, you can’t carry this. You didn’t ruin multiple friendships. Seb and I both really cared about you, neither of us could turn it off like a light switch. He just needs time. It’s still months before the press tour. Maybe this will be the motivation for him to move on?”

She gave his neck a little kiss, “I hope you’re right. It just…it’s hard to be both the heartbreaker and the friend who wants to help. I know I can’t help him, that would only make everything worse. But that doesn’t make me feel any better.”

He moved his hands up into her hair, massaging her scalp. “I know, babe. It’ll take time for you, too. Do you want to find a therapist here?”

“No, I’ve got someone I can talk to.” She kissed his neck again, lingering a little longer. “You’re the best, babe. I’m a bigger asshole for not seeing that sooner, and being such a fucking mess.”

“You’re not a mess, and you’re not an asshole. I’m the idiot, I should have asked you out at the first opportunity. I definitely shouldn’t have been in denial so long you had multiple other offers on the table.”

“The Asshole and The Idiot, starring us, new movie coming to theaters near you,” she joked, and sat up to look at him.

“There’s my girl. What can I do to help you feel better?”

She cradled his face in her hands, running a thumb over his bearded chin, then his lips. “Just…keep being you,” she decided, and kissed him sweetly.

“I’ll do my best,” he smiled back at her. He still had his hands in her hair, so he steered her back in for another kiss. “I think I have some other ideas that might help you feel better.” He moved her head back and kissed her neck.

She had a brief moment of feeling torn in different directions. Part of her wanted to punish herself over Seb, like she didn’t deserve affection right now. Part of her involuntarily flashed back to being with Seb, the sense memory of his kisses. But the part that overrode everything else was the part that was here and now, the part that loved Chris, the part that craved him. That part of her knocked off his backwards baseball cap and ran her fingers into his hair.

She started tugging at his shirt, not wanting him to let go but also wanting to feel that physical closeness. He tried to argue, “No, this is about making you feel good.”

“Shirtless Chris makes me feel real good. _Naked_ Chris makes me feel even better…”

“You don’t just want to make out a little?” he asked, but his hand was also grabbing her ass when he said it.

“I want to make out forever,” she agreed, “I don’t understand why that means you need clothes on.”

“Because once I start getting naked, you’re going to need to get naked. And once you’re naked, I don’t think we’re going to stick to making out.” He slipped his hands under her shirt to emphasize his point.

“Well, that just sounds like a fun challenge to me,” she dared.

He had been kissing along the deep-V neckline of her tee, but he stopped and looked up at her, “Huh?”

She had a very mischievous glint in her eyes, “Let’s get naked and see how long we can stick to just making out, before one of us just can’t take it anymore! We can even make a wager out of it, because I bet you are going to break first.”

“I’ll take you up on that bet, especially as I think I win either way.”

“So do I, no harm, no foul. Loser makes dinner?”

“It’s on. Any rules?”

“No touching genitals, either against each other or with hands or mouth.”

“Boobs and butts?”

“No, like, forreal butt stuff, but you can get a handful, I think that’s fair.”

He tried to look like he was thinking hard to consider it. “Alright, we have a deal!” They shook hands, and started removing their clothes, grinning broadly.

Initially, they were having too much fun just being playful together. They shared teasing little touches, following the rules, but only just. He would stroke along her thigh, she would run her fingernails down his stomach, both would stop just short of the promised land.

Soon they were both sweating from the effort of restraint. His thigh pressed between her legs, and every time she tried to lift her hips he would move away. He was at an advantage: he had her pinned, kissing her neck just where he knew would drive her wild, touching all over her breast except her nipple, and had her right hand trapped. He had her, he knew he just had to keep it up a little longer and…

She lowered her lips to his ear, “Don’t look so smug, Evans. I’ve got one weapon left. Do you feel how wet I am for you? God, it would be so easy for you just to slide right in, fill up my tight pussy.”

“Is this you admitting defeat?”

“Nope, you just never said dirty-talk was off the table.”

“Oh! Oh, shit…”

“Yeah, you’re in trouble now, babe. I can feel how hard you are for me. Just imagine sliding your cock up and down my slit…I’m soaked for you, baby. It would be so easy for you to just slide into my pussy. I’m so ready for you, baby, so tight and wet, just waiting for you to fuck me…I _need_ you inside me, _need_ you to fuck me, make me come so hard…”

He moved between her legs and was inside her in the space of a breath. She didn’t even get a moment to gloat, she was too busy moaning. She just held him tightly and enjoyed the feeling of him filling her, smiling as she came just like she promised.

He made steaks for dinner. She made an apple crumble for dessert, as concession to the fact that he’d almost won. _Almost_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was almost going to be a smut-free chapter, but then it was too much fun to write! Comments & kudos always appreciated


	5. Welcome

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick little quickie, I want to decide where the fluff goes here, but wanted to squeeze in some smut!

Once upon a time, when they were still just friends, Shyla had picked Chris up from the airport, and when he saw her in her cute little dress, he’d wanted to kiss her so badly. So this time he wasn’t going to miss an opportunity: as soon as she came into view, he hustled over and swept her into his arms. Paparazzi be damned, he’d missed her. She’d only gone to LA a couple days before him, but even being apart that much had sucked. He knew it wasn’t going to be the last time schedules pulled them apart, and in the future it would likely be for much longer than a couple of days. And, hell, most of their early friendship was spent on opposite coasts, plus all the time apart while she traveled. But now they were officially, mutually, completely in love, and he didn’t want to spend a moment apart.

They kissed until she started to laugh and thumped him on the chest to be put down. He gave her another quick kiss and then relented. She smiled up at him, “I missed you too, babe.” She gave him a squeeze around the waist before stepping back, “What can I take?”

“You’re not carrying shit!”

“You’re a cave man.”

“When we get back to your place, I’ll show you how much of a cave man I can be…” he nuzzled into her neck. She playfully swatted at him before taking his hand and leading him to the car.

They made small talk about the flight on the way, and got his bags settled in the trunk. He sat in the passenger seat, but before he could close the door, she climbed in and straddled his lap in the seat, settling against his chest and shimmied her hands between his back and the seat as she put her head on his shoulder. He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her, “I missed you too, Shy.”

They just held each other for a while, glad for the opportunity to feel close again. The heady feeling of new love is a helluva drug. She tilted her face to kiss just under his ear, and he made a rumbly little hum of approval. He slid a hand up to her hair, glad she’d worn it down, wondering if that was for him. He moved her so he could kiss her, first sweetly. But having her straddling his lap, and wearing a dress, things started to heat up considerably. When his hand moved under the hem of her dress, and around to the front, she sat up and admonished, “ _Chris_! Right here?”

“You’ve got tinted windows! And you’re parked against a wall! No one will see!”

“What if a paparazzi sees the car rocking, and comes by to check?”

“Risk I’m willing to take, sweetheart,” moving to kiss her neck.

She sucked in a breath and sighed “Well, if you put it that way…” She reached between them and undid his jeans. She had his cock out in an instant, he was already hard as a rock. She pushed her panties aside and slid onto him, gasping as she clutched at him. He moaned her name softly against her neck. He wanted to see her breasts, but he knew if a pap did come by, that would make for much more scandalous photos, so he resisted the temptation. He moved his hands to her hips to encourage her movement, and whispered “God, how are you so wet?”

“What can I say? I missed you,” she said, kissing him and picking up the pace. They had neither the luxury of time nor much space to work with, so he moved his fingers to her clit, and she moved even faster. They were headed towards climax, but she started to plateau. “I can’t…go fast enough…” she panted through her frustration.

He held her closer to him, lifting her hips up, planting his feet on the floormat, and he drove his hips up. She bit into his shoulder to stifle a cry, and soon the tight grip of her orgasm sent him over the finish line as well.

She collapsed on his chest, and murmured in his ear, “Thank god for core day and leg day, am I right?”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a total praise-junkie, so if you want to see more chapters in this ending, let me know with kudos and comments!


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